Quid Pro Quo
by Ayeshalan
Summary: A haunted house story! Fair warning -- no Galen here. I wanted to give some of the other characters a chance to shine. Any and all comments welcome!


Quid Pro Quo  
  
Chapter One The First Ones of Caldor 423  
  
Caldor 423 was the fourth planet in an ancient star system. It had been inhabited once, but those beings had departed long, long ago - perhaps when human beings were just beginning to contemplate painting the walls of their caves.  
  
Most of those beings had departed, to be precise. A few, however, remained. Trapped within their own weaknesses, their consciousness was bound to one spot on the planet. So they remained there, ever searching for a way out and growing ever more mad as they failed to find it.  
  
Even their own kindred, who waited for them, couldn't help. All they could do was wait, and hope that someone who could help, would come to Caldor 423. And having gotten there, could survive the experience.  
  
* * *  
  
Lt. John Matheson greeted his Captain, Matthew Gideon, as Gideon entered the bridge of the Excalibur and dropped into the commander's chair. "We've made the jump to normal space, Captain," he said. "Now approaching our next destination, Caldor 423."  
  
"What did the Rangers' report about this planet say?" Gideon asked.  
  
"That there is strong evidence that several 'First Ones' still live here," Matheson said. "They apparently were interested in communicating with us."  
  
"Hard to believe," Gideon remarked, "considering that the First Ones all left the galaxy at the end of the Shadow War. Even before then it was hell just to find them, let alone get them to talk."  
  
Matheson simply nodded. "Orbit's established, Captain."  
  
"Full sensor scan, Mr. Matheson," Gideon said. "If there are some First Ones here, let's see if they've got the welcome mat out."  
  
A short time later, Matheson said, "The preliminary scans are complete, Captain. Some strange things going on here."  
  
"Let's hear it."  
  
"There are quite a few ruins all over the planet, Captain. Consistent with the planet having been inhabited tens of thousands of years ago. But in one location, there is a single complex of buildings still standing. And we're reading a very high concentration of energy there. It bounces all over the electromagnetic spectrum."  
  
"Well, if that's not a welcome mat, it's at least a come-hither," Gideon said. He stood up. "You're with me, Lieutenant. Call Dr. Chambers, Max and Dureena, have them meet us in the docking bay.  
  
"Let's go see what we can see."  
  
* * *  
  
The air was warm, and felt heavy, the sensation accentuated by the sun, which glowed large and dully red in the late afternoon sky. The Excalibur's shuttle had landed on a broad plain. All around them were gentle, rolling undulations, all that remained of a city after many thousands of years worth of erosion.   
  
Except for immediately in front of them, where a structure that bore a remarkable resemblance to an English manor house still stood. Even the low wall enclosing old gardens behind the main building was still mostly intact.   
  
There was a low hum in the air, which grew louder as the five walked toward the house. A hundred meters from the front door, they stopped. Dureena Nafeel, who had been walking a little ahead of the rest, stopped and turned.  
  
"It's a barrier," she said. "I can't get past it."  
  
"What's it for?" Chambers wondered aloud.  
  
Suddenly, the air near Dureena swirled, seeming to take on a life of its own, then solidifying into the form of a man in a plain brown robe. "Welcome to Caldor 423," he said.  
  
"Who are you?" Gideon asked. "Are you one of the First Ones?"  
  
The figure nodded. "We lived here once in a form much like your own," he said. "I am creating a shape you can communicate with easily."  
  
"He's right, Captain," Chambers said as she looked at the small scanner in her hand. "He's a hologram, more or less."  
  
"We are aware of your quest," the hologram said. "We cannot give you the exact information you seek. However, in the old gardens around and beyond the House --" he gestured in a wide sweep to indicate the manor behind him -- "is a store of all the knowledge our people accumulated to the point where we forsook physical form, and thus, the need to physically record information. It is very possible that the cure for the Drakh plague -- or at least, tools which will help you find a cure."  
  
"What's the catch?" Max asked.  
  
"The price ... the quid pro quo, if you wish," the hologram said. "Yes. Unfortunately we cannot simply offer this information freely. We need your help to solve a problem. A problem which is near as old as your species."  
  
Gideon nodded. "I'm listening."  
  
"Our race belongs with the other First Ones, who have departed beyond the Rim," the hologram said. "But we cannot leave without our kindred whose spirits yet remain in that house. If you will free them, you may take whatever you wish from the store of our race's knowledge. You may well find the cure you seek there. And whatever other information you find, you may have, freely."  
  
Chambers spoke up. "But why can't you free them yourselves? You're far more advanced and powerful than we are."  
  
"That's exactly it," the hologram said with a gesture that could best be interpreted as a sigh. "Our brethren in that house were caught there aeons ago, before the rest of us evolved. We cannot understand them, or the motivation that holds them there. You, who are much like we were in the distant past, may be able to comprehend it and so set them free."  
  
"So what you're saying," Gideon said, "is that you need us to talk to them *because* we're so much more primitive than you?"  
  
"Just so."  
  
"I don't know if I should be complimented or insulted," muttered Max. 


End file.
